The present invention relates generally to arcade style amusement games of skill and gambling games of chance, and more particularly a game with a player-controlled or game-controlled crane that includes a security compartment where valuable prizes can be withdrawn only be authorized personnel.
Redemption games that measure a player's skill and luck are well known in the art. The present inventor is also the inventor and owner of many popular games found in today's′ arcades. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,272,082, entitled “Coin Projecting Amusement Device,” discloses an amusement wherein coins may be controllably deposited by the player on a playing surface having a multiplicity of surface interruption means thereon. A vertical dam translates over at least a portion of said playing surface and pushes said deposited coins against a random pattern of accumulated coins, causing some of said accumulated coins to fall over an edge into a collecting and counting means. This game is marketed and sold under the trademark “Wedges and Ledges.” U.S. Pat. No. 4,303,248, also invented by the present inventor, discloses an amusement game where coins are dropped onto a flat surface over which a vertical dam is horizontally translated. The vertical dam translates over a portion of the flat surface and drops a certain of the accumulated coins over the edge. As the coins drop over the edge, they are collected in a counting chute to be synchronously counted in a memory which is then unloaded to vend out a corresponding number of tokens.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,726,585 also discloses an amusement apparatus in which a player controls a pushing device to push items off of a playing field. A moveable surface is driven in a first pre-determined path and the pusher device is moveable in a linear path traverse to the path travel of the moveable surface. A delivery passage at one end of the path of the pusher device is arranged to deliver any item swept off the surface to a retrieval bin. U.S. Pat. No. 4,822,045 is directed to an amusement device comprised of a pair of spaced apart elongate members defining a track, and a rolling member for rolling along that track under control of an operator. The elongate members are spaced a fixed distance apart at their first ends since this ends comprising since this end comprising the normal home position of the rolling member. The opposite, second ends of the elongate members are moveable relative to one another to adjust their spacing and to control the movement of the rolling member along the track. The operator controls the separation of the elongate member so that the rolling member can roll from its home position to the opposite end of the track without falling between the opening separating the elongate members.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,553,865 discloses a rotary arcade game including a turn table having a central aperture. Prizes are positioned on the surface of the turn table and moved by a pivoting arm member operated by the player. The player attempts to manipulate an arm member to push prizes into a collection pocket where they are detected and dispensed to the player. U.S. Pat. No. 5,855,374 is directed to a crane game using a vacuum to selectively pick up prizes within a bin. The prizes are arrayed on a rotating turn table, and the player manipulates a vacuum pick up device linearly along a radial direction of the turn table to pick up prizes below. U.S. Pat. No. 6,139,429 discloses another crane game using a video screen for displaying images. A maneuverable sensor contacts the display screen to select prizes displayed thereon. U.S. Pat. No. 6,095,519 discloses an arcade game including a directing mechanism for aiming a game piece such as a token. U.S. Pat. No. 6,598,881 discloses a crane game with a prize redistribution mechanism for dispersing prizes to a substantially level configuration. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 6,770,001 discloses a vacuum crane game with targets having beaded portions that vary the difficulty of acquiring said targets.
Games of skill or chance such as those above often use the allure of prizes to attract players. Prizes such as watches, MP4's, radios, cameras and jewelry are costly and the more desirable the prizes the more players will be drawn to the game, and the more business it will do. However, there is a drawback to using prizes that that are valuable above the usual plush animals and the like, and that is that thieves will target the games to try and steal the prizes instead of winning them. The way current redemption type crane games are arranged, when a player successfully captures a prize the crane moves the prize to a drop zone which leads to a compartment where the player can then retrieve the prize. However, if prizes are valuable, thieves can tip or shake the game in an attempt to cause prizes to tumble into the drop zone where they can be retrieved by the thieves. Therefore, there has been a reluctance on game owners to use more expensive prizes in the redemption games.